A Washington state couple hold hands during a marriage ceremony in this 2012 file photo. A federal judge in Cincinnati ruled Monday that Ohio officials must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states when issuing death certificates.Rachel La Corte, The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Public officials in Ohio must recognize same-sex marriages when issuing death certificates, a federal judge ruled on Monday.

While the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Black in Cincinnati was limited only to death certificates, Black used broad, sweeping language suggesting that the U.S. Constitution requires Ohio to recognize valid same-sex marriages from other states.

“Once you get married lawfully in one state, another state cannot summarily take your marriage away,” Black wrote in his 50-page order, “because the right to remain married is properly recognized as a fundamental liberty interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution.”

Attorney General Mike DeWine said he will appeal the ruling.

The decision stems from a court case filed in July by a Cincinnati couple who sought to have their out-of-state marriage license recognized so one of the men, dying of ALS, could be buried in his husband’s family plot. Another Cincinnati-area couple later joined the suit seeking the same recognition, as did a gay Cincinnati funeral home director asking for guidance on the issue.

Black granted temporary injunctions for bothcouples, but Monday’s order made the injunction permanent.

While Black didn’t rule on whether Ohio must completely recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages, he wrote that “a substantial logical and jurisprudential basis exists for such a conclusion."

“The question is presented whether a state can do what the federal government cannot – i.e., discriminate against same-sex couples … simply because the majority of the voters don’t like homosexuality (or at least didn’t in 2004),” Black wrote, referring to the year Ohio passed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

“Under the Constitution of the United States,” Black continued, “the answer is no.”

Ohio State University law professor Marc Spindelman said while Black limited his ruling only to the issue of death certificates, the pressure is now on Ohio to show why it shouldn’t completely recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages – or, for that matter, allow gay marriages to be performed in the state.

“It’s hard to see how the ruling remains limited to the context of death certificates for very long,” he said.

Pro-gay marriage groups hailed the ruling, which comes on the heels of judicial rulings to legalize gay marriage in New Mexico and Utah.

“In Ohio, we see the promise realized that soon no government can stand in the way of the bonds forged in sickness and health,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin in a statement.

“While we rejoice in this ruling, we are saddened that the state of Ohio would choose to compound the grief of surviving spouses by challenging the legality of their loving, committed unions,” said Michael Premo, campaign manager of Why Marriage Matters Ohio, in a statement. “We hope the day will soon come when every Ohioan and every American can be ensured of marriage equality and equal protection under our laws, and we will not stop fighting until that day comes.”

But Brian S. Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said in a release that Black “grossly twisted” the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in United States v. Windsor.

“In the process, he has issued an open invitation for gay marriage activists to bring a wider lawsuit to redefine marriage entirely,” Brown said.

“Though seemingly confined to how Ohio’s death certificates treat so-called same-sex ‘marriages’ performed elsewhere,” he added, “the ruling is utterly unlawful and violates the sovereignty of the people of Ohio.”

Earlier this year, a state lawmaker introduced a resolution urging federal impeachment proceedings against Black for “malfeasance and abuse of power” because of the temporary injunctions he issued.

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